She arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in January.
Not the romantic cinematic version where everything happens with perfect timing and the right people are in the right places. The real version — which started at three in the morning with the specific persistent cramping that I had been told to expect and had not fully believed would feel exactly like this, and involved a car ride where Dante drove with the concentrated focus of someone who had decided that this particular car journey was the most important one he had ever taken and was going to execute it accordingly.
He called Marco from the car. Marco called Dr. Webb. Dr. Webb confirmed she would meet us at the clinic. Dante confirmed this three times because confirming things three times was how he managed situations that mattered.
"I'm
